Information Collected and Processed in Connection with the Texas Higher Education
Assessment® (THEA®)
The Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, a business of NCS Pearson, Inc. ("Pearson")
respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy applies to personal information that Pearson may collect or
process in providing testing registration and testing services.
Purpose of Collecting Personal Information.
Pearson collects personal information about examinees (a) to perform test registration and collect payment
for the test registration fees; (b) to communicate with the test examinee about the test registration,
test process, and test results on behalf of the Client; (c) to administer and score the test and prepare
and communicate test results reports to the Client, the test examinee, and the examinee’s designated
reporting institution; and (d) to otherwise communicate with test examinees related to the THEA®.
Providing personal information is voluntary but necessary if the examinee wishes to register for
and take the examination. Pearson may use the information you provide to contact you related to your test
registration, or with regard to other test-related information or other opportunities for participation
in other testing related studies or activities. If you do not wish to be contacted regarding these opportunities,
please email postmaster@nesinc.com
Personal Information Collected at the Time of Registration.
The personal data that Pearson collects or receives in registering a test examinee may include name, address,
e-mail address, phone number, fax number, social security or other government-issued identification number,
credit/debit card information, language, date of birth, employment information, previous examination history,
and educational information, including educational institutions attended. In addition, Pearson collects
information about the examinee’s designated reporting education institution—the educational institution
specified by the test examinee to receive the test results.
Personal Information Collected at the Time of Testing.
Depending upon test security requirements, Pearson may collect your signature, photographic image, and
fingerprint or thumbprint manually or digitally when you arrive at the testing center to take the test.
In addition, test examinees may be monitored and audio- and videotaped while taking the test. When the
test is administered to you, Pearson collects and scores your test responses and then derives test scores
and generates a report about your test results.
Protection of Personal Information.
We use reasonable precautions to protect personal information from unauthorized use, access, disclosure,
alteration, or destruction. These precautions include appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial
procedures. We provide a secured transmission method for the electronic transmission of credit/debit card
and social security number information.
Transfer of Information to the Reporting Institution.
By registering for a test through Pearson, you consent for your personal information (with the exception of
your debit/credit card information) to be transmitted by Pearson to the reporting education institution that
you specify. Please contact the reporting education institution for information about how they may use your
personal information if you have questions about their privacy policies and practices.
Other Transfer of Information.
In addition to transmitting certain personal data about you to the reporting education institution that you
specify, we may disclose personally identifiable information (a) in response to a subpoena, court order, or
legal process, to the extent permitted and required by law; (b) to maintain test security and integrity, to
address violations of law, and/or to protect your security or the security of other persons, consistent with
applicable law; (c) in connection with a sale, joint venture, or other transfer of some or all of the assets
of Pearson; and (d) to organizations who are working as contractors or agents of Pearson and who are committed
or obliged to protect your privacy in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy. By registering for the test,
you give your consent for your personal information to be transmitted in the situations outlined above.
Information Access and Corrections.
To correct the personal information that we collect at the time of registration, please contact us by e-mail at
www.thea.nesinc.com/THEA_EMail.asp.
Resolution of Concerns.
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we have handled personal data, please
contact us at postmaster@nesinc.com.
Aggregation of Non-Person-Specific Data.
Pearson may statistically aggregate in non-person-specific form test responses and other information collected
in the test registration and delivery process. Such aggregated non-person-specific information may be used for
quality control, operations management, and security and to enhance, develop, or improve testing processes,
testing services, and tests.
Information from Children
This Web site and our testing services are not directed to children or anyone under the age of thirteen (13).
Pearson will not, through this Web site or through its test registration and administration process, knowingly
collect, maintain, or use any personally identifiable information about anyone under the age of thirteen (13).
Information Received from Internet Service Providers Through This Web Site
This Web site receives information that is automatically generated by a user’s Internet service provider
(ISP). This information may include the IP address (a number automatically assigned to a computer by the ISP);
the associated URLs; domain types; the browser type used to access our site; the country, state, and telephone
area code; the location of the ISP’s servers; the pages of our site that the user views during the visit; any
search terms entered on this site; and the user’s Web site address and e-mail address. This information may be
collected for system administration purposes, to gather broad demographic information, and to monitor the level
of activity on the site. Pearson does not link IP addresses to personally identifiable information; however, we
reserve the right to link IP addresses and other information supplied by the ISP to personally identifiable
information in order to protect the integrity of our system and for security purposes.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a Web site transfers to your computer’s browser. We use cookies to measure
traffic patterns, personalize content, and control security. The cookies we use supply
non-personally-identifiable information, but they may identify your computer, browser, and Internet
specifications.
Transmission of Information
The Internet is a global environment. By using this Web site and sending information to us electronically,
you consent to electronic transmission of any data that you may choose to supply us. Information transmissions
to this site and e-mails sent to us may not be secure. Given the inherent operation and nature of the Internet,
all Internet transmissions are done at the user’s own risk.
Links to Other Sites
This Web site may contain links to other Web sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third
parties, or by Pearson or its affiliates. The information practices of those Web sites are not covered by
this Privacy Policy, but by their own terms and policies, which you should read carefully. These other sites
may send their cookies to users, collect data, or solicit personal information. This Privacy Policy applies
only to information collected or received in connection with testing registration and services. This Privacy
Policy is not intended to apply to other Pearson Web sites, or other types of information which may be subject
to different privacy policies.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting an updated
Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes or updates. This
Privacy Policy is effective as of July 28, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at
postmaster@nesinc.com.
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